Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates generally to peritoneal dialysis (PD) and, more particularly to tele-care management systems for PD and related methods for PD thereof capable of providing easy self-management.
Description of the Related Art
Chronic renal failure patients must receive some form of long-term dialysis treatment. In particular, peritoneal dialysis is a form of dialysis that can be performed at home. Compared to patients that must pay regular hospital visits for hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis features low costs and high efficiency, thus setting the trend of future promotion. Peritoneal dialysis (abbreviated as PD) is the implantation of a permanent catheter in the abdominal cavity. Through the catheter, the effluent fluid is poured into the abdominal cavity for a period of time. With the peritoneum as the semipermeable membrane for dialysis, wastes that cannot be metabolized by the kidneys and excessive water are moved to the effluent fluid in the abdominal cavity to be excreted outside the body and for new effluent fluid to be introduced. This gives patients the option of performing peritoneal dialysis at home and for them to supply their recycled effluent fluid for a doctor in the hospital to determine its turbidity through the naked eye and decide subsequent therapy to be administered.
However, occurrences of peritonitis and other complications tend to hamper the PD implementation. The effluent fluid for PD often shows variations, depending on the physical condition of the patient. In other words, the effluent fluid for PD can be used to determine whether or not certain lesions occur in peritoneal dialysis users. However, when such lesions become detectable by the naked eye, it is often too late. Meanwhile, since the patient may only be able to pay a revisit to the doctor every month or after longer time, the doctor may not be able to monitor the patient's condition between two visits and provide the patient with early treatment where appropriate.